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Serious disease targets men in Ireland! – No cure found for Umbrellaphobia yet.

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Serious disease targets men in Ireland! – No cure found for Umbrellaphobia yet.

New empirical studies have shown that men in Ireland suffer from a debilitating disease that not only affects men, but also attacks their wardrobe. The disease only breaks out on rainy days, but then spreads faster than the feared winter vomiting bug until it reaches every corner of Dublin. The disease is called Umbrellaphobia and is a chronic aversion against the use of umbrellas and it can even escalate to an outright fear of umbrellas. Luckily the Umbrellaphobia disappears once the rain stop, but subsequent wet days show that it never gets cured, it only gets temporarily pushed back a bit.

This Umbrellaphobia seems to affect the brain of the majority of men in Ireland and makes logical thinking and the slightest bit of risk assessment an impossible thing. The prevalence of the disease is significantly higher in Irish males in comparison to non-irish males, but it does affect both population groups.

What happened? Last Wednesday, a wet early morning, I saw with my own eyes how Irish men in particular and many men in general have such a fear of umbrellas – or the image that the use of an umbrella might create (or destroy), – that destroying their clothes, walking around looking like a wet cat and getting drowned in the Dublin rain is preferred over using a stretched out piece of fabric, spanned over a collapsible metal frame.

I saw not one, not two, not three, no FOUR men who had full suits on, but walked along the canal with no jacket and no umbrella, looking like someone had dragged them through the canal. What is wrong with (Irish) men!? Why does a simple umbrella scare the bejaysus out of them so that they would be rather seen dead (or drowned) than with an umbrella in their hand.

Odd!! Luckily the women are significantly more logical and analytical when it comes to the rain and its effects.

Dublin, Irish, Society, , ,

Butchering the Thee-shock! – Irish words in radio and TV

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Butchering the Thee-shock! – Irish words in radio and TV

What is wrong with radio and TV broadcasters in Ireland? Where did they learn the pronunciation of Irish words? I don’t speak Irish, but even I know that Thee-shock is NOT the way Taoiseach should be pronounced. Where is that “TH” coming from? I also know that Doyle is a surname (Mrs. Doyle from Father Ted comes to mind. ;-) ), but it is NOT the correct pronunciation for “Dail” (the Irish Parliament) and finally Fine Guayle is not the correct pronunciation for “Fine Gael”.

If a newsreader or radio or TV broadcaster can’t pronounce these relatively simple three words correctly, they should be sent to elocution classes or should be deported to the Gaeltacht until they are able for the most basic pronunciation.

Some might tell me that what I hear is the Dublin 4 way of speaking Irish and that the same people are even challenged by basic English pronunciation (Ross O’Carroll Kelly comes to mind and “Chorles” for “Charles”.) but the newsreaders I am referring to are from City Centre based radio stations. So this (weak) excuse can not be applied.

You might think that it is odd/funny or even rich that a foreigner, who doesn’t speak Irish at all, complains about the pronunciation of Irish words, but is everybody else just ok with that??

Dublin, Irish, Odd, Society, , ,

Fianna Fail vs Fine Gael – No real difference, but big enemies!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Fianna Fail vs Fine Gael – No real difference, but big enemies!

The election is over and at the time of writing this, the polling stations are just about to close so I have no idea yet, what the outcome of the election will be. BUT, we all have certain expectations and these expectations are usually influenced by the media reporting in the last few days and weeks.

Most commentators expect the outcome to be a “hung” Dail. Hanging in this case is nothing bad or negative and it is a strong word for the situation that means nothing else that not one party or one previous coalition has a clear majority. Big deal! Just find new alliances and form a new coalition. Yes, that’s what most would think, but in Ireland things work a little different, because for some odd reason the two parties that ALWAYS have been the biggest parties in the Dail, really don’t get on with each other.

Substantial difference of opinion? Different ideologies? Not at all! And that is the oddest thing about it! Fianna Fail and Fine Gael really have largely the same opinions about society, economy, justice and nearly all other areas of politics. Yes, there are some differences, but they are really quite small and sometimes you feel they disagree just to pretend that they have separate identities.

So, why do two parties that have the same opinions not work together? Looking at this situation from the outside (or as a foreigner) really doesn’t show any reason for their opposition to each other. But if you ask that question in Ireland, most informed people will have an immediate answer and they will tell you that it goes back to the Irish Civil War.

WHAT? So, the separation of these near-twins goes back more than 90 years and they still haven’t realised (or are struggling with the realisation) that they are more alike than different? Any coalition, Fianna Fail with the Greens in the previous Dail and Fine Gael with Labour in the just finishing Dail period HAS to be much more of a challenge than a coalition between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. Do they not realise that?

Seemingly they don’t! And so it could happen that if there will indeed be a “hung” Dail we will have sooner a re-election than a cooperation between these two oh so similar parties.

(BTW: I am no suggesting that either of them or a coalition of the two is the best solution for Ireland. They both have not convinced in their periods of governing the country and with that in mind, putting two bad apples together wouldn’t create a yummy peach, it just would probably cause a bigger rotten fruit. The above article is more a reflection on the astonishing fact that they feel they can’t work together, 90 years after their disagreement. Imagine if that idiotic stubbornness was still in place in Northern Ireland! They would still kill each other!)

Elections, Irish, Politics, Society, , ,

Spring does NOT start in February!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Spring does NOT start in February!

Badly educated event organisers and media outlets will tell you about the “Start of Spring” this week, but don’t fall for that! Together with your primary school teachers they are just badly educated. ;-) Met Eireann points out year after year that Spring starts in Ireland on 01 March and NOT on 01 February. But the misinformation is is persistent. Met Eireann is using the meteorological start of spring and that is definitely not in February but in March as you can read here.

In the rest of Europe, Spring starts – based on the astronomical calendar – even later, on 21 March. Only Ireland is different in whole Europe and how did that happen? Well, the “mistake” in Ireland goes back to the ancient celts, who ignored meteorology and astronomy and had a completely different way of looking at things. The year for example started on 01 November and the day started and ended at sunset. So they were not really wrong, but they used different definitions.

If your day still starts at sunset and your year starts on 01 November, then it’s perfectly fine to start Spring on 01 February in your world. But if you have modernised your views and start your year on 01 January and start the day at midnight, then it is time to update your view of the seasons as well! ;-)

General, Irish, Odd, Society, , , ,
 
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